Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-11-12
IN LONDON HOTELS.
NO GREAT IMPROVEMENT IN THE
SYSTEM FOR YEARS.

A Place Where You Cannot Hurry Any
body-Experience of Hungry Man.
Habituai Carelessness of the Scuiiion.
At the Seaside.
The hotel system in this country is very
solemn. You cannot hurry anybody. If
you drop your key at the hotel it may he an
hour before you will recover it. 1t is like
the diving bell operation. The more you
enjoin these solemn personages the more
they lose either their presence of mind or
their method As to the method, they have
but little. In the first place. they do not
rise till about or after 8 O'Clock in the morn
ing, although nature shines upon their island
about o'clock. Active minded Yankees,
who feel the morning shine, rise and expect
to get even with the country. They find that
they cannot buy pill or seidlitz powder or
an oyster. The Briton rises as becomes him
about 9 O'Clock or 10 o'clock-and is then
somewhat unrested if call is made upon his
avarice
am stopping here in hotel which is sup
posed to be the perfection of recent civiliZa-
tion. 1t is built OF white bricks on the IL,
side and stone exteriorly. There is more
style and method about it than islequired Of
a country house You come in at the front
door and observe a man covered over with
gilded uniform. You advance toward two
or three offices near the front door. II yon
strike the wrong office they march you to
and fro. You are requested to register
About six of these minor offices are kept up
toward the front. In the course of time you
| learn the regimen, but if you are blunt or
| dull You may be for week kept sailing he
tween office number one and Office number
| seven. When you come down from your
room you drop your key through hole INTO
a sort of a vat. If they neglect, as they often
| do, to fish your key out Of the vat you may
| he ten or fifteen minutes recovering your way
into your room.
AT THE BREAKFAST TABLE
When you go to breakfast you are required
| to give your number, which has been previ
ously contided to you on q lit5le round ticket
on check. You present yourself, and in about
three minutes are required to sign schedule
as to your place of abode They bring you
| little piece of fish about two inches by
! three inches. When YOU have done with thi:
they possibly bring you a second piece.
calculate during the present week that every
meal which cost me from four shillings Il
seveIt shillings cost the house about one-hal
shilling at the very highest. The hotel sys
TEN here has changed, as they suppose, fo
the better, and yet We would think in Amer
lea that it had hardly changed at all. lie
me give you an example of the contrast
Fifteen or twenty years ago the Langhal
hotel was supposed to he the finest in London
it was placed near the American minister
residence; il was built of brick and was
very large and extensive building. The
made it state and offensive and exclusive
| you go to the hotel Won see man in uniforI
parading before it his business is to ohServ
whether YOU are tit to come into the holy c
hOlies. Ydu pass through the portal, an
there is perhaps a second sergeant at arm
there to. look out for your character, Whe
6 you get within the hotel becomes very el
r. pensive containing several kinds of bureau
containing railroad tickets, newspapers an
what not.
You finally go up to little office, which
7 perhaps supported by a boy. He assigns yo
to a room Most of the chambernlaidS r
ceive about EI5 year. or SO. They al
t obliged to enter into articles of contract
stay out their year. 1t need not be limited
| that a portion of them are oblIviOus OF Il
. seventh commandment When yoa go dow
J.. 10 til. breakfast or dining room Sou tind In
almost every one there is a German. |
! knows nbost vno r-rh.- F-t<1fsffs n af~r ~
what YOU have to eat. and if YOU have a r
quest To make pertaining To yonr room
: your friend he shrugs his shoulders and i
l sists upon feeding you. He is as Sioux |